刺 cì
- Strokes
- 8
- Radical
- 刂 — knife
- Made of
- 朿 thorn, sting, prickle 刂 knife
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
刺耳
cì'ěr
ear-piercing; grating
Characters in this word
耳 ěr
- Strokes
- 6
- Radical
- 耳 — ear
- How it's built
- Pictograph — a drawing of the thing
Example phrases
- 刹车时发出的刺耳噪音让整节车厢的人都皱起了眉。 Shāchē shí fāchū de cì'ěr zàoyīn ràng zhěng jié chēxiāng de rén dōu zhòu qǐ le méi. The piercing noise made by the brakes caused everyone in the carriage to frown.
- 黑板上传来刺耳的刮擦声，大家都捂住了耳朵。 Hēibǎn shang chuán lái cì'ěr de guācā shēng, dàjiā dōu wǔ zhù le ěrduo. A grating scraping sound came from the blackboard, and everyone covered their ears.
- 他说的话很刺耳，但是仔细想想也有道理。 Tā shuō de huà hěn cì'ěr, dànshì zǐxì xiǎngxiang yě yǒu dàolǐ. What he said was harsh to hear, but thinking it over carefully, it makes sense.
Related words
- 刺 cì thorn; to prick
- 刺激 cìjī exciting; to stimulate
- 冲刺 chōngcì to sprint; to make a final push
- 刺骨 cìgǔ bone-piercing; bitterly cold
- 刺绣 cìxiù embroidery; to embroider
- 刺眼 cìyǎn dazzling; harsh on the eyes
- 讽刺 fěngcì to satirise; to mock; to ridicule
- 耳机 ěrjī headphones
- 耳朵 ěrduo ear
- 耳环 ěrhuán earring
- 耳光 ěrguāng slap in the face
- 耳目一新 ěrmùyìxīn to find something refreshingly new